Return to Neverland

A professor in my communication class asked a student what he’d do if he made billions, and he stood there completely bewildered and shot back a “whatcha talking bout Willis” gaze as he ummed and ahhed for a painful 20 seconds. While I thought the question was an easy one, he still struggled. 

 

“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you’ll ever be.” Where are you, Peter? No amount of Neverland could arraign this claim. When I first heard this I was overcome with a pang of guilt for ever questioning the correlation between alcohol and skin aging. They were right. We all looked so much older. Yet it wasn’t just our physical appearances, I guess we were maturing too. And what was to come after this? Many of my guy friends cringed at the idea of commitment, let alone the prospect of marriage. Most of them would have easily traded in their anniversary gifts for a supplementary addition of skoal and called it a successful night. Nice one, boys. And while we were indeed getting older, we were also becoming more ambitious.

 

At least one in three Boston College students have a bucket list. One in three BC students look like a walking hangover without the J. Crew. There’s no truth to either of those claims but there is truth in acknowledging that we all have goals and when tested, they’re almost always met. Our school is filled with talented and driven individuals who are never satisfied with a simple ‘no.’ Instead they question the obvious answers, withstand complex assignments and continue to meet the most intricate of tasks all for the pursuit of a greater knowledge. In the rush of our routine demands, its easy to expect a little more for ourselves. 

The reality however, is that most of us set goals that are either too elaborate to meet or the stark opposite: little to no goals at all. It amazes me that in the midst of the student clubs and organizations determined to set the world aflame you can still find no spark. Yet I was still confident that everybody had at least one thing going for him that instilled him with some sense of fulfillment. As I looked around though, it appeared that while students had a lot going on, there were only a few things of actual substance that made them happy, and what was the use in that?  

 

It seems as though there’s a hidden pressure to get involved with different causes and organizations and keep a busy schedule, but in retrospect, time’s really too precious to waste. You have the rest of your life to undertake tedious endeavors and pile it all on your plate, but you may have limited time in finding something that you love doing and that’s worthwhile. 

 

“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you’ll ever be.” Today is the youngest you’ll ever be and probably the only time in your life where you can sport that sequined vest, obnoxiously tell people you’re from Amurika and relentlessly tire the Tebow pose all at once. Today is the youngest you’ll ever be, you don’t need 10,203 goals to meet, you just need at least one thing you’re actually passionate about. 

 

For the hopeless guy who struggled for an answer on what do to with his billions: hang in there homeslice, you may have a ways to go but soon enough you’ll find your zest.